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Arguments began when Eurotunnel, which manages the Channel Tunnel and its vehicle shuttle services, bought three ships from bankrupt French carrier SeaFrance in 2012 and then ran them under the brand name MyFerryLink. It had a contract with a French workers’ co-operative SCOP to to run the new ferry service on its behalf.

But the deal led to challenges in the UK from rival ferry operators who said Eurotunnel’s involvement was anti-competetive. Critics accused Eurotunnel of setting up ‘Trojan Horse’ ferry firm in a bid to undercut and put out of business existing ferry firms to protect its core channel tunnel business.

Earlier this year a British tribunal agreed and halted MyFerryLink services from the southern English port of Dover to France’s Calais on grounds of unfair competition.

Further trouble: Union members are meeting today to discuss their next course of action

An appeal court later overturned the ban. But despite this Eurotunnel, predicting yet another round of legal challenges, decided to quit the ferry business. It leased two of its ferries to Danish operator DFDS - a move expected to result in hundreds of job losses.

It was this that triggered last month’s hugely disruptive strikes as the 600 workers with the now defunct French co-operative mounted wildcat strikes that blockaded Calais, and burned tyres on the tracks to sabotage Eurotunnel and Eurostar services.

Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon told a parliamentary commission in Paris: ‘The current situation in Calais, which is terrible, is not due to a Eurotunnel decision.

Instead he said it was a result of the British competition commission ‘continuously defending’ British ferry giant P&O and being allowed to ‘block any development... under a French flag.’

He said: ‘It’s British protectionism that is forcing us to stop this activity.’

He defended Eurotunnel’s decision to sell the ferries to DFDS, which he described as a ‘ferocious competitor’ on the Calais to Dover route that wants to challenge British ferry giant P&O.

Mr Gounon said: ‘It was unreasonable in my opinion to further reinforce P&O which is the maritime leader... DFDS was an operator that needed ships and employees,’ said Gounon.

P&O Ferries has the lion’s share of the Dover-Calais link with 23 sailings a day

The two leased MyFerryLink ships plus a DFDS ferry are still marooned in Calais because the union will not release them.

Ferry union chief Eric Vercoutre has warned on continuing strikes noting: ‘If you want to have a hot summer, come to Calais.’

Critics fear another strike by French union militants blockading Calais will simply fire the starting gun for another mass attempt by hundreds of migrants to stowaway on stricken UK lorries and to storm the Channel Tunnel entrance.

The disruption for this week alone has already cost around £1billion – at the rate of £250million per day in lost business and wasted time and effort, say port officials and haulage leaders. That could double if the wildcat strikes continue.

Operation Stack – the police system of making lorries queue for miles to prevent gridlock at Dover, is likely to continue until the weekend while backlogs are cleared.